Support for traveling cranes and similar structures



B. F. FITCH.

SUPPORT FOR TRAVELING CRANES AND SIMILAR STRUCTURES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 5, 1920.

1,409,089, Patented Mar. 7,1922,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFF! BENJAMIN F. FITCH, F EVANSTON, ILLINOIS.

SUPPORT FOR TRAVELING- CRANES AND SIMILAR STRUCTURES..

. T o all whom t ma/z/ concern.'

Be it known that' I, BENJAMIN F. FITCH, a citizen of the United States, residin at Evanston, in the county of Cook and tate of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Supports for Traveling Cranes and Similar Structures, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to supports for overhead traveling cranes, either when the wheel base is in a single plane or of the semi-gantry type wherein one leg of the gantry travels upon a rail located on the floor within a building while the other leg is supported by an elevated rail.

Frequently the building construction is such that the wall does not posses suilicient strength to support the live load of a crane. This is particularly true of freight stations and warehouses as they have ordinarily been constructed; because the entire load is usually carried by the floor, and the walls need have only suiiicient strength to support the roof.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide an effective and economical support adapted to carry an elevated rail for a crane which may travel within a building. Another object is to provide a support that can be erected outside of a building and be adapted to support a rail inside of the building without materially altering the structure of the wall.

I accomplish the above objects by means of fabricated columns supported on bases outside of the building but independent of the construction thereof. Secured to the column I provide means which extend through an opening in the wall for supporting on the inside of the building a rail on which the crane may rest.

The above and other features will become more apparent in the following description which relates to the drawings. The essential characteristics are summarized in the claims.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a side elevation of my supporting means showing the relation of the column to the wall of a building; Fig. 2 is an elevation of a rail and supporting bracket, from a position within the building; Fig. 3` is a section of the base of the column taken on the line 3-3as shown in Fig. l; Fig/4 is a cross section through Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 7, 1922. 1920. serial No. 371,452.

-ing means. As shown, this wall is 'of brick construction but my invention is obviously adapted to any type of frame or fabricated metal construction.

Adjacent the wall, but on the outer portion thereof, is the supporting column 11, which is constructed independent of the wall 10, and preferably comprises a fabrication of angles 12 with lattice work 13. This column is preferably constructed in a tap- 'ered form, having the base Wider than the top. The column 11 has rigidly secured to the lower portion, base plates 14 which may be rigidly secured to an independent concrete foundation 15 through anchor bolts 16. These base plates may be rolled structural shapes or castings as desired. They serve to give the column an independent supporting means and are conveniently constructed of sufiicient size to overcome any tensile or shearing forces resulting from any load resting on the top of the column.

Secured to the top portion of the column l1 and extending through the wall 10 is the bracket 17. This member is preferably a steel casting of an L-shaped form comprising a vertical leg 18 ad'acent the inner face of the column and rigi ly secured thereto, with a horizontal leg 19 which serves as a support for the rail 21. To brace the bracket I prov1de a web 20 as shown in Fig. 4. This bracket may be secured to the column l1 by the bolts 22 which extend through the column, substantially as shown.

To prevent buckling of the column at the point of connection, of the bracket, I prefer to provide spacing members 23, which are substantially sleeves that embrace the bolts and have their ends abut the inner faces of the column. Obviously any strain which might be imparted to the column through tightening the nuts in bolts 22 will be partly compensated for by 'these sleeves.

Holes may be drilled in the angles 12 at various heights on the column so that the of rolled said column adapted to be secured to bracket 17 may be adjusted for different buildings or have various heights in the same building. The purpose of this adjustment is to provide universal supports as near as.

is practicable for anyshape or size of building.

The rail 21 may be secured to the bracket 17 by vclips 24 which are substantially U-shaped members so arranged that the upper arm thereof rests upon the rail, while the lower arm is underneath the cross arm 4 of the bracket. On the other side of the rail there may be another clip-like member as shown at 25 in Fig. 1. These two members may be secured together by a bolt 26 which passes through the bracket-arm.

When installing the supports, concrete bases may be constructed adjacent to the wall but independent thereof. The universal columns may then porting the rails. tour of the ground is such, that it is necessary to use different heights of columns to maintain a uniform height of the supporting rail, above the ground, then it is only necessary, with my invention, to so position the bracket through holes in. the column that this desired height. can be readily 1nain' tained.

It will be seen that I have provided a support that is light in Weight, strong, durable, capableof being cheaply manufactured and adapted for ready application for existing structures. Being composed principally structural members'my columns may be fabricated of desired length from material kept in stock or supplied in quantities.

Having thus claim:

1. In a rail supporting device the combination with a described my invention I building wall having an opening therein of a column adjacent thereto and in the outside thereof, a base for said column, a bracket on said column ex-` tending from. one side of said wall to the other through the opening, and -means on said bracket for supporting a rail.

2. In a device of the character described,l the combination with a building wall, hav

therein of a column adjacent building Wall, base plates on founand a ing an opening one side of the dations independent of saidlwalls,

' bracket adjustably secured to said column for supporting a rail on opposite side of ing beset in place and the brackets rigidly adjusted' thereon for sup- Obviously, if the con-j `bracket to the column,

said wall, said bracket being in close fitting engagement into the opening in the wall.

In a rail supportingdevice, a column comprising a fabrication of angle members adapted to be positioned adjacent a build- Wall and in the outside thereof and supported independent thereof, a bracket adjustably secured 'to said column, bolts adapted to secure said bracket to said column, and a U-shaped clip carried by said bracket and adapted to secure a rail.

4. In a rail supporting device, a column comprising a fabrication of angle members, a bracket adjustably secured to the side of said column, bolts adapted to secure said bracketl to said column, sleeves embracing said bolts and extending between facing flanges of the angle members, said sleeves being substantially of a length equal to the distance between the opposite an le members at the point where said brac et is se? cured, and means on said bracket adapted to secure a rail.

5. The combinationwith a column com` prising angle members positioned adjacent a wall and on the outside thereof, of a base adapted to support said column independent of-said Wall, said angle members being positioned to form the shape of an I-beam, lattice Work' adapted to form the web portion of said I-beam, a bracket adjustably secured to said column by bolts and adapted to extend through an opening in said wall, a rail carried by the bracket, a fiat clip on-one side of the base flange of the rail,-a hook`- shaped clip abutting the other side of the base flange and extending under the bracket, and means passing through each clip for securing them to the bracket.

6.' The combination with a wall, having an opening therein of a column comprising angle members positioned adjacentl to the Wall, of a base adapted to support said column independent of said wall, an L-shaped bracket adjustably secured to the side of said column adjacent the wall and extending through an opening in said wall', one arm ofthe bracket substantially closing the opening in the wall, lboltssecuring the sleeves embracing said. bolts, a rail resting on the inner end of js'aid-bracket, and a clip adapted to secure the rail to the bracket.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto aflix myv signature.

BENJAMIN F'. FITCH. 

